[Bingenito]

The X4s arrived Monday morning and were put into play right away. I dropped them right where my other speakers always sounded great with the same minor toe in as measured with a laser level. 5.5 ft from the front wall, almost 4ft from the side walls in a heavy treated room and I am seated 10.5ft away.

This is not a review at all as it is far to early for that however I will say a few things:
-Break in: With all of the break in threads I was scared to death of what I would hear but in my room with my gear and cables I have to say I will not be joining the break in thread party. Yep all speakers need mechanical and thermal break in but these sound great out of the box. I called Cloud and this pair was run for about 50hrs from the factory so yes it get better but no concerns here.

- Bass: With these being entirely passive and being driven by the Pass X250.8 which never leaves class A, the grip on the woofers is astonishing and tracks with a run of a bass guitar sound like... guess what... a bass guitar in your room jamming. If you want more bass than this I suggest that you listen to more live music because this just sounds real. Lots of fancy words that we can use to describe music but Real to me is the highest honor. To me the bass is probably what differentiates this speaker from most others that I have owned. Often times we hear outstanding mid bass on up but the bass where most speakers actually do harm to the overall in room response and sound. The X4 does no harm and let's a quality system and room do it's job. This is why you see a speaker like the Elac Unifi Reference (Snagged from my HT system) in my room as a test to see what the gear and room sound like without bass issues... you might be surprised.

- Soundstage and imaging: Deep, layered and pinpoint. I may never screw with placement.

- Resolution: Always a double edge sword of sorts. We all love it but not at the risk of alienating 80% of the music that we enjoy. The X4s in my system and treated room nail it. With the Alta Alec and some other speakers I wanted to hear deeper into the recording but that last 5% wasn't there for my taste. I toyed with oversampling, fast vs slow filters on my DAC and toe in and got close but never there. The X4 are naturally very open and resolute but even at loud volumes not harsh. I tend to listen around 75DB but have played them in break in 24/7 at 95-100DB and walking in the room it is not harsh, bright or in your face.

[Early B.]

Awesome!

[Audiosaurusrex]

Bingeneto, looks like you went through quite a few differences. What is pictured and if you would not mind short description of differences?

[Bingenito]

Chasing the dream my man

The B&W pics are from 2006-2010 and are Salk HT3s and Maggie 3.6r SEs with a pair of JL Fathom subs.

1 row up from that are Tekton Lore with crossover upgrades and the Elac Unify Reference- Dropped into the room from my other systems to check it out. The Tekton Lore in this large room performed really well and I preferred them to the Tekton Double Impact SEs in the same room with the same gear. Actually surprised me that I preferred the smaller and much more cost effective speaker.

Alta Alec and Tekton DI SE... Alecs have some of the best bass of a bass reflex speaker that I have heard to the point that I tested integration of a Rythmik sub from my HT room and the Alec bass was better in my opinion. Again you never know these things until you try and if you have the gear in other rooms, test it and have some fun.

Top row are the X4s and Salk Song Encores that I acquired pre-owned from a local gentlemen. I still have the Salks and love both speakers so wont be selling either. The X4 to my ears and in my room have more resolution and if your gear and room is it up to it...that is a good thing. The Salks have more slam being a large bass reflex speaker. The directivity of the X4 AMT is not as sensitive to listening position distance... If I move forward 18 and back 18" the soundstage depth is consistent. With a dome tweeter that is not the case. Both are excellent speakers and use top shelf parts made by great people.

The X4 sound most like the Maggie/ JL Fathom combo but a much smaller form factor. I always had a love/hate with Maggies because they sound fantastic but in my opinion need quality subs and still cant be pushed all that hard vs. a speaker with PA drivers that are designed to take a pounding and keep on ticking. Still I got the X4 to chase that former system sound as that was my reference and was downright spooky with the lights off and cranked to ~85DB nominal. My gear back then was better than what I have now so I have an XP22 coming in to replace the XP12 and an MSB DAC on the way.  I suspect that in a few weeks I will achieve my goal.

PS> All of the changes are due to me exiting the hobby and getting back in over the past 2-3 yrs. I tried to keep it simple and cost effective but my OCD told me to sit down and shut up.

[kingdeezie]

Bingenito,

This has some great information. Thank you for posting. You are in for a real treat with the XP-22. I have been through all the new XP series, currently enjoying a 32.

There is a big difference between the 12 and 22 that should really elevate the sound. Enjoy!

[Bingenito]

That is the hope! Enjoy that XP32

[Fbczar]

Bingenito,

Can you compare and contrast the sound of the X4's vs the 3.6 Maggies? I am trying to decide between an X4, M4, M3 and Magnepan 3.7i. I already have two exceptional sealed subs. I will be using the system for music and home theater. I assume the X4's can play much louder than the Maggies or any of the Sapphires. Anyway and detail you can give would be much appreciated.

[6string]

Bigenito (or anyone who knows),

I have X4s on order and need advice about FEET.....I would like to install Gaia II (with their dedicated carpet spikes on typical shag with pad) but Spatial stopped installing these because they make the speaker unstable with the new 3 point base.  In my house they would be protected, where it would take some effort for someone to bump into them.  I don't have any experience with the Gaias, and therefore don't know how elastic they are and how much movement they allow.  So... do you have any thoughts about how (un)stable they would be?

Thanks,
Mark

[Bingenito]

Sure I will provide my opinion but it is just that and you and others are free to disagree.

I also have used the Maggie 3.6 in a dual purpose HT and Music system. Based on what I am hearing I would have zero concern about the X4 in HT use with large dynamic swings playing full range (not LFE channel). The Maggies did not excel at that. The sweet spot was more narrow (left to right) and the dynamics were not as well suited for movies. For music, especially acoustic music Maggies are hard to beat regardless of price.

The placement requirements of the speakers are similar with dipole radiation.

The Salk Song Encores are in my HT as mains now and they crush life in that room. Dynamic contrast with those speakers and 2 subs is scary as hell.

[zybar]

Sure I will provide my opinion but it is just that and you and others are free to disagree.

I also have used the Maggie 3.6 in a dual purpose HT and Music system. Based on what I am hearing I would have zero concern about the X4 in HT use with large dynamic swings playing full range (not LFE channel). The Maggies did not excel at that. The sweet spot was more narrow (left to right) and the dynamics were not as well suited for movies. For music, especially acoustic music Maggies are hard to beat regardless of price.

The placement requirements of the speakers are similar with dipole radiation.

The Salk Song Encores are in my HT as mains now and they crush life in that room. Dynamic contrast with those speakers and 2 subs is scary as hell.

We (I) need Clayton to come out with a center channel. 

Without that, I can't implement a Spatial HT setup.

Until that happens, I am also using Salk for HT.

George

[Bingenito]

I have X4s on order and need advice about FEET.....I would like to install Gaia II (with their dedicated carpet spikes on typical shag with pad) but Spatial stopped installing these because they make the speaker unstable with the new 3 point base.  In my house they would be protected, where it would take some effort for someone to bump into them.  I don't have any experience with the Gaias, and therefore don't know how elastic they are and how much movement they allow.  So... do you have any thoughts about how (un)stable they would be?

6String... Herbies Giant Gliders would be my recommendation. The X4 spikes will terminate right into the brass coupler and the glider is dampened, inexpensive and works.  https://herbiesaudiolab.com/collections/loudspeaker-rack-decoupling-and-isolation/products/cone-spike-decoupling-glider?variant=12645103501367

[geerock]

Plus 2 on Herbies Audio Labs.

[6string]

Thanks for the Herbie's recommendation.  I never knew there were so many choices to make about feet.

[Bingenito]

You bet! I have used Gaias before on a few speakers and use Isoacoustic products on my gear. That said I prefer the Herbies gliders for speakers as you need to tune placement as you change gear, speakers break in and the GAIA feet make that a PITA.

I had Timbernation make me 2 plinths for the GAIA feet to sit on so that I can still move the speakers around. That just makes an already costly solution... more costly and raises tweeter height.

[Bingenito]

X4s are sitting at just over 240hrs of play time (50 pre arrival/ 190 at my place). So far enjoying what I am hearing. Top end is really opening up and creating a 3D holographic sound. Before I received the speakers I had ordered an MSB Premier w/ powerbase and network renderer to replace my Terminator II. It arrived earlier this week along with the XP22 to replace the XP12 pre.

Overall this really took the entire system up many notches. Better dynamics, blacker background, bigger stage and layered front to back like I have literally never heard before in my life. I keep music playing 24/7 and when I walk by to sit down my ass is glued to the chair. The MSB sounds like analog and in my system has zero hint of digital.

Cymbals on most DACs sounds like a reproduction but cymbals with the MSB and the X4s Crash and shimmer with the sound just hanging there in your room.

More to come at ~500hrs.

[Bingenito]

Added some REL Carbon Specials to the bottom octave yesterday. Just finalizing the integration but like what I am hearing. So does my cat/ wingman.

[rich121]

Added some REL Carbon Specials to the bottom octave yesterday. Just finalizing the integration but like what I am hearing. So does my cat/ wingman.

Looking good!
A couple questions, I looked thru the thread and did not see room dimensions given (including ceiling height).
Also, I seen earlier you mentioned you had a pair of JL Audio subs, curious if you still have these, and if you still do, why the change to the REL subs?

[Bingenito]

The room is 18 wide x 30 deep x 9 high however behind me that height increases so it is over 6000 cu ft.

The JL Fathoms were with former Magnepan 3.6R SEs.

Not sure that I would use the JL subs in a music only system with these X4s. Great subs but more brute force in my opinion where the REL Carbon Specials start and stop on a dime. No lingering bass notes at all. While I was breaking them in I had Roon play some older hip hop that I know to be very bass heavy and it surprised me how quick the bass would start and stop... very impressive to say the least. I guess it makes sense with a rigid low mass driver with a large motor. In car terms... the former subs are like a Dodge Challenger Hellcat and these are a 718 GT4 (strictly my opinion and not stated as fact).